“Well, sir, I believe you just made my tongue happy for the rest of the night,” Rock said, immediately taking a seat at the bar and digging in.
I could see the pride on Perry’s face. “I—I’m very happy to do that,” he said. “I could bring out more.”
“Yes. Please. Don’t stop,” Rock said, deep in pleasure as he ate.
“You’re going to make his entire year if you keep complimenting his food like that,” Red said as we sidled up next to Rock at the bar.
“I’d be glad to. This shit is fucking delicious,” Rock said.
“Not as delicious as you, firefighter,” Sam said, crossing back over from the other side of the bar, where he’d been helping other customers. “You don’t come in enough, Rock.”
Sam reached over and gave Rock’s forearm a squeeze.
“Hands off my brother,” Red said, giving Sam a hard stare.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Sam said. “I’m allowed to flirt with hot straight guys as long as they don’t mind it.”
“I don’t mind a bit,” Rock said. “Thanks for saying I’m delicious, Sam. You do wonders for my self-esteem every time I visit.”
“Rock has helped me land dates before,” Sam told me, lifting an eyebrow. “He likes trolling gay dating apps with me and pointing out the dudes he thinks I could score with.”
Rock nodded. “I’m good at it.”
Perry emerged from the kitchen again, this time with a plate full of multicolored fruit and sweets.
“Oh, mama mia, he’s back,” Rock said, licking his lips.
“Some simple champagne infused grapes and dark chocolate covered strawberries with crystallized rock sugar.”
“Rock sugar? That’s what people call me in bed,” Rock said.
“Oh, shut up,” Red said, shoving his brother on the shoulder.
“Watch out, I’m an injured man,” Rock said, laughing.
“Pretty sure your ankle is the problem, not the shoulder.”
Rock took a bite of one of the strawberries and let out a moan. Perry was watching him intently.
“I think I love you, Perry,” Rock said.
I’d never seen Perry’s eyes go so wide.
“Maybe this is where I’m going wrong,” Rock continued. “I should stop trying to find the perfect girlfriend and just be with Perry.”
Perry’s cheeks were a deep shade of pink as he disappeared back into the kitchen. Red and I laughed.
“What?” Rock said, still chewing on a strawberry.
“You’re going to break his brain,” I said.
“Let it break,” Rock said. “The man is a wizard. Shit, maybe I should come stay in Amberfield while my ankle heals. Crash at your place, Red.”
“I mean, I’ve got the guest room,” Red said. “You don’t have to go into the firehouse at all?”
“I still join the weekly calls, but I can’t work for at least another two months. This baby is going to be in a boot next week,” Rock said, patting his ankle.
Red shrugged. “You can stay with me for a week,” he said. “Truthfully, I’m probably going to be at Liam’s most of the time, anyway.”
“You two are lovebirds,” Rock said. “It’s gross. And also amazing. But still gross.”
“Don’t be jealous,” Red told him, before leaning over and pressing a kiss to my temple.
Rock sighed. “It’s okay. I’ll just stay here eating Perry’s food and it’ll keep me as happy as I can be.”
A slow song came on the jukebox, something with a Western twang. I saw Mitch nod his head and go over toward the light switches, dimming all the lights in the bar.
Red swiveled on his stool, standing up and grabbing my hand. “I’m gonna steal you for a sec,” he said, fixing his eyes on mine.
“Should I be afraid?” I asked.
“You should never be afraid with me,” he told me, leading me over toward a small open space by the jukebox. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close, and started to slow dance with me.
He smelled like his usual, woodsy clean self, warm and inviting and way too fucking perfect. Being this close to him was all I had wanted for years. At this point, I could barely remember what life was like without Red in it.
“You fucking nailed it, Liam,” Red said softly near my ear, after we’d been dancing for a minute.
“Hmm?”
“This. The whole celebration. It’s exactly right. And exactly what I needed.”
I pulled in a deep breath, taking in his scent again. “You’ve been exactly what I needed for as long as I can remember,” I said. “It’s the least I can do.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder as we moved slowly. I could just make out his heartbeat beneath his skin, pounding just as hard as mine was.
“I think I want to stay here,” I murmured.
“You should,” Red said back, softly. “Stay in my arms.”
I lifted my head, looking him in the eyes. “I meant… here. In Amberfield,” I said. “I came here with no plan. I knew I needed to leave LA, but some part of me was still worried. But I’m going to call this week and terminate my lease there.”